Remembering 8th grade.

 I found this amongst entries in Jen’s blog and I just thought it interesting!

Your 8th grade year in Middle School is supposed to be "the worst year of your life." Let’s see how much you remember. I know for some it might be hard for you to go back that far! – In Nigeria, that was not the school educational system that we had. 8^th grade would be 2^nd year junior secondary school. Secondary school was divided into Junior for three years and then senior for another 3 but I was accelerated twice so I didn’t have the full 6 year course.

·         Who were your best friends? Angela Yassin, Shifa’a Dayekh, Osman Ahmed, Toks Fakunle, Linda Ahiome……Damn….I so miss them!

·         What sports did you play? None I was in debate, drama, the editor of the school paper, African dance and modern dance though :) 

·         Did you take your lunch? Yup! I had chapatti often because my school was owned by a Pakistani!

·         It’s Friday night, where were you? At home and loving it. Playing with my dog or my cat or studying or watching re-runs of full house. I was so in love with John Stamos.

·         Were you a party animal? Nope! Never.  

·         Were you in the "In Crowd"? ABSO-FUCKING-LUTELY! Proud to be the most popular girl in school too

·         Ever skip school? Nope. Never. I loved school.

·         Ever smoke? Nope, never and never will. Never been interested or curious to even try.

·         Were you a nerd? A cool nerd yes!

·         Did you get suspended / expelled? Heck no! They loved me!

·         Can you sing the alma mater? We didn’t have one in Kano. I don’t think any of the schools did. I can sing the Nigerian national anthem, and recite the pledge though?

·         Who was your favorite teacher? Hhmmm…..I don’t remember anymore. I liked school so much I liked ‘em all.

·         Favorite class? French, Math, Science and Phonetics.  

·        What was your school’s full name? Crescent International School, Kano Nigeria.

·        School mascot? We didn’t have any.

·         Did you go to the dances? We didn’t have proms so I have never gone to a prom but I was in every single dance presentation.

·         If you could go back and do it over, would you? Heck yes! I miss Nigeria and the life I had there so much!

·         What do you remember most about Secondary school? The best time of my life. All my friends and all the extra curricular activities I had. I have vivid memories of performing to an African dance, and as soon as I got off the stage, just falling to the ground coz my thighs hurt from gyrating in a squat position. Damn! But I loved that dance. I loved the drum beats.This was alsothe time of  my first appearance on tv - local Kano channel, competing for my school in a quiz show.

·         Favorite memory of your 8th grade year? The day I was awarded “Most behaved student”! Why? Because my mum and I were shocked that I would be the recipient of that award coz I was just not the quiet, silent type. I was the prefect in school the whole time I was there and I would get scolded for being the noisiest and most talkative. Another favourite – awardings on stage. It felt good to have that validation that all your hard work paid off.

·         Were you ever posted up on the 8th graders wall? We didn’t have one.

·         Did you have a job your 8th grade year? Not a job but a sideline. I would bake cakes and pastries to hand out to the people my mum did business with. We also had a chicken farm so I was the one who would deliver the dressed chicken to companies that we were supplying. I never got paid for any of that though but that trained me to work hard at everything I do. My mum is the most entrepreneurial, most hardworking, ethical woman I know.

·         Who did you date? Hammudi Khatoun.he wasn’t my boyfriend just the guy I loved the whole time I was in secondary school. He was 6 feet tall, half german half Lebanese. So freaking handsome, very affectionate and truly loved me for who I was. We never kissed or hugged either. Very dark hair, nice round brown eyes, very athletic too.We were classmates in our first year in junior secondary and then he went on for home studies instead to study for the GCE or A and O levels.I dont even remember which one anymore. I wonder where he is now….last I heard from him, he was already modeling in England.

·         Where did you go most often for lunch? Just in school. We only had a few minutes for our break anyway.

·         Have you gained weight since then? Au contraire, I have actually lost weight. I was much heavier and chubbier and a softee back in secondary school. And I was dark as hell for swimming every single day. And hey, I lived in Africa. The only country where I was ever referred to as a “baturiya” meaning – white girl! Hahahaha! Me? A white girl.